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FanDuel College Football Main Slate Week 2 - Footballguys

Week 2 CFB Slate Breakdown

by Dan Hindery, September 7Photo: Isaiah J. Downing, US Presswire

The Week 2 FanDuel college football main slate is 11 games and kicks off at 3:30 eastern time. It is a challenging slate overall. Many of the stars may face limited playing time due to their teams being huge favorites. Plus, obvious value is extremely tough to find due to tough FanDuel pricing. The tight pricing means either digging deep for low-priced sleepers to fit in a few elite options or attempting to build a balanced lineup centered around mid-tier players.

Quarterback

McKenzie Milton, UCF ($10,700) There is one concern and one concern only for Milton’s fantasy prospects this week —playing time. How much will he play in the second half if the game gets wildly out of hand? Milton and Central Florida should be able to do whatever they want against FCS for South Carolina State. The positive is that if UCF piles on the points early, Milton is likely to be heavily involved. It is a pass-first offense under new coach Josh Heupel and Milton is also one of the top threats on the team as a runner. Plus, Heupel showed little mercy last year as Missouri’s offensive coordinator, as Drew Lock played deep into games and put up ridiculous passing numbers against the weakest teams on the schedule.

Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame ($9,800) Wimbush is in a sweet spot this week. Notre Dame has a massive 48.5-point team total but Ball State may have just enough offensively to keep the game close enough for Wimbush to play 3+ quarters. Wimbush showed real improvement as a passer against an elite and experienced Michigan defense last week. He completed 10-of-13 passes in the first half for 143 yards before the offensive got conservative in the second half. Wimbush is also a big-time threat running the ball. He ran for 804 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.

Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State (10,800) Haskins had a sterling debut against Oregon State, throwing for 313 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also ran the ball twice for 24 yards. While not expected to run nearly as much as J.T. Barrett did last year, Haskins should average at least a few carries per game and could get some opportunities to run down around the goal line. The matchup against Rutgers is ideal. Ohio State is expected to roll (35-point favorites) and will have a massive talent advantage against a Rutgers defense that was likely to struggle even before losing its top defensive back to injury. However, against a Big 10 opponent, it is also fair to assume that the game will remain competitive enough for Haskins to play into the fourth quarter. The lesser risk of an extreme blowout makes Haskins a slightly more attractive option than Will Grier, who is facing an FCS team.

Note: Keep an eye on the weather as kickoff approaches. If conditions are wet and windy, it is fair to downgrade Haskins slightly. It could be a wet slate in general and updates will be made as needed to the article Saturday morning based upon the latest forecasts.

Sam Ehlinger, Texas ($9,100) Ehlinger is a prime spot for a bounce-back performance after an error-filled opener against Maryland. Texas is favored by 23 points at home (42-point implied team total) against a Tulsa team that struggles defensively. Ehlinger is not a true dual-threat quarterback, but he did rush for 385 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season. While Ehlinger may be on a short leash if he struggles early, Texas coach Tom Herman has no intention of making a quarterback switch. "I don't think, certainly Sam didn't play perfect, but nobody did, and his errors weren't egregious enough to merit just dumping him on the depth chart,” Herman said early in the week.

GPP-Only

Feleipe Franks, Florida ($8,600) Franks looks like he has taken well to the new offense under quarterback guru Dan Mullen. He completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 219 yards and 5 touchdowns in the opener against Charleston Southern. The matchup against Kentucky is solid and Franks has a manageable salary.

Will Grier, West Virginia ($11,100) Grier should put up monster stats in the first half against FCS opponent Youngstown St. but may not have to play much after halftime. Due to the high salary and likely blowout, Grier does have some risk.

Luke Skipper, Tulsa ($7,500) Tulsa is a 23-point road underdog at Texas and have an implied team total of just 19. However, Skipper is a true dual-threat quarterback (13-30-1 on the ground last week), has some decent weapons at wide receiver, and is facing an inconsistent Longhorns defense. With value options few and far between on the slate, he is worth considering as a salary saver.

Running Back

Jordan Scarlett, Florida ($7,800) Scarlett is one of the top options on the slate under $8,000. He is the clear top back for the Gators, nearly doubling-up Dameon Pierce in snaps last week (27 to 15). Scarlett looked like an emerging star as a sophomore in 2016, rushing for 889 yards despite being part of a four-man RBBC. However, he was suspended for the entire 2017 season due to his participation in an alleged credit card scam. The matchup is ideal. The Gators are 14-point home favorites against division-opponent Kentucky.

Darrin Hall, Pittsburgh ($4,700) FanDuel made it tough this week, with sub-$5,000 value almost non-existent. Hall is the one ultra-cheap option who stands out. Hall is in a timeshare with Qadree Ollison and the Panthers are 8.5-point home underdogs to in-state rival Penn State, so it is hard to get too excited about his prospects. He wouldn’t be on the fantasy radar but for the price, which allows you to load up on other top options. Hall is a relatively proven commodity, with 785 total yards and 10 touchdowns last season. His 628 rushing yards led the Panthers last season. He is a good bet for at least modest production on Saturday, which is more than can be said for everyone else in his price range.

Bryce Love, Stanford ($9,900) Love struggled with just 19 yards on 18 carries last week against San Diego St. The performance has to be viewed as an anomaly. We know what he is capable of (2,118 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns last season) and the matchup against USC is decent. Stanford is favored by 5 points at home in a game with an over/under of 55. Love faced USC almost a year ago exactly and rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown. Plus, USC looked vulnerable against the rush in the opener against UNLV, allowing 308 yards on the ground (including 14-136-1 to starter Lexington Thomas).

Miles Sanders, Penn St. ($9,700) Last September, Penn State rolled to a 33-14 win over Pitt with Saquon Barkley putting up 133 total yards and 2 touchdowns. Talented junior Miles Sanders is now in the lead role for the Nittany Lions and looked the part in Week 1 (111 total yards and 2 touchdowns). Penn State is favored by 8.5 points and has a healthy team total of 32.8 points. Sanders has a great chance to again top 100 yards and find the end zone at least once. Unlike most of the other top backs on the slate, limited playing time due to a blowout is not a real concern for Sanders.

GPP-Only

Jafar Armstrong, Notre Dame ($9,000) and Tony Jones Jr., Notre Dame ($7,800) Both of Notre Dame’s top backs are very much in play this week. The Fighting Irish have a whopping 48.5-point team total and should be able to run all over Ball St. Armstrong is the starter and led the team with 17 touches and 2 touchdowns last week against Michigan. He is a converted wide receiver in the mold of C.J. Prosise. Jones is a 5’11, 220-pound bowling ball who will be heavily involved assuming the game goes according to script and Notre Dame can play conservatively with a big lead.

Brian Robinson, Alabama ($5,000) Robinson is no more than a GPP dart throw but his price is attractive and the game script sets up well for him. Last week, Alabama gave starter Damien Harris 23 snaps, backup Najee Harris 22, and Brian Robinson was third with 14. The Crimson tide should absolutely romp as 36.5-point home favorites against Arkansas St. With a team total of 51, there should be a lot of fantasy production to go around. Robinson is the only member of the running back rotation priced attractively.

Wide Receiver

Van Jefferson, Florida ($8,700) The Mississippi transfer is the top target for the Gators. He is a polished route-runner who is the son of a pro coach. In his Florida debut last week, Jefferson caught two touchdowns in the first half. Florida has a solid team total of 32 points and the starters should play the whole way against SEC-East opponent Kentucky. Building a roster around mid-tier, sub-$9,000 wide receivers may be the way to go this week with obvious value at the position non-existent.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Texas ($8,300) Humphrey seems to have overtaken Collin Johnson as the top option in the Texas passing game. He led the team with 6 catches for 82 yards against Maryland in the opener. The Longhorns come home to face an overmatched Tulsa defense which will have a tough time dealing with all of the athletes Texas has at the skill positions.

David Sills V, West Virginia ($10,500) Even if Sills isn’t expected to play much in the second half against Youngstown St., he is still the top wide receiver on the slate overall. He has a ridiculous total of 20 touchdown catches in his last 13 games. The only question is if his $10,500 salary can be squeezed in on a slate with extremely tough pricing.

Myles Boykin, Notre Dame ($6,900) Boykin stands out as the top bargain option at the position this week. He had a relatively quiet opener against Michigan (1-28-0) but drew a pass interference penalty and had a touchdown called back due to penalty. The going should be much easier against Ball St. Notre Dame’s implied team total of 48.5 is second-highest on the slate (though two games involving FCS teams don’t have lines) and the ability to roster a starting receiver on a top offense for less than $7,000 is hard to pass up.

GPP-Only

Jhamon Ausbon, Texas A&M ($8,500) The Aggies are double-digit home underdogs and have just a 21-point team total, which should keep Ausbon’s ownership low. The game script sets up well for Ausbon, the clear top receiver, to see heavy volume and he has the talent to make plays even against a loaded Clemson defense.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Stanford ($10,300) Like Davis Sills, Arcega-Whiteside is a touchdown machine. He has caught 12 in his last 12 games (including 3 in the opener last week). A long-armed jump ball specialist, Arcega-Whiteside is the clear go-to option for Stanford and is virtually guaranteed to get some deep balls thrown his way on Saturday.

Deebo Samuel, South Carolina ($9,600) It is an extremely difficult matchup against a talented Georgia secondary and the Gamecocks team total of 23 is amongst the lowest on the slate. However, Samuel is one of the most talented receivers in the country and this is the game of the year for South Carolina. Expect Samuel to featured prominently and make his share of plays in what should be the afternoon’s best game.

Binjimen Victor, Ohio State ($5,500) Victor is the #6 wide receiver for Ohio State and clearly nothing more than a GPP dart after not catching a single pass in the opener. However, he is intriguing as the best low-priced stacking option with Haskins. Victor actually led the Buckeyes receivers in snaps last week (40) and if the game goes according to script against Rutgers, the offensive coaching staff should have the ability to try to reward some of the guys who didn’t get in on the scoring last week.